Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest seller of cars powered by a combination of gasoline and electricity, will build a hybrid model of its Lexus LS sedan in 2007. It will be the luxury brand's most expensive model to date. The Lexus LS600hL will arrive in the U.S. in early 2007 with a V-8 engine and electric motor that produce more than 430 horsepower, the company said. Its price hasn't been set.

Toyota Motor Corp., the fourth-largest auto maker in the U.S., plans to raise prices on its 2000 model Toyota and Lexus luxury cars and trucks to take advantage of record demand. The Japan-based auto maker said it will boost average retail prices on Toyota vehicles by 0.8%, or $175, starting Feb. 1. Lexus prices will rise 1.2%, or $454. The move follows a 1.9% increase on Toyotas announced in August.

Advertiser: Lexus Agency: Team One Advertising, El Segundo Challenge: Establish an identity for the LS 400. The Ads: A series of print and TV spots shows a male model painted so as to blend into the car. In a TV commercial inspired by the futuristic movie "Running Man," the model runs across a desolate urban landscape to a Lexus. Once seated inside, the model's painted torso blends into the upholstery. In another commercial, the model is painted to blend into the grill.

A carjacker armed with a handgun stole a 1993 red Lexus Sunday from a Chino teen-ager in the parking lot of the MainPlace/Santa Ana shopping mall, police said. The victim, Bradley Scott Dobson, 16, told police he was sitting in the car waiting for his mother to finish shopping when a man in his 30s approached, showed the gun, and demanded the car and Dobson's class ring, said Santa Ana Police Lt. Robert Helton. "He gave the man the car and gave him the ring," Helton said. Dobson was unhurt.

Lexus once again stands alone atop a closely watched ranking of vehicle dependability after Buick slipped from the No. 1 spot it shared with the Japanese luxury brand last year, J.D. Power & Associates said Thursday. It's the 14th straight year Toyota Motor Corp.'s high-end brand has held the top position in the annual study, which measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. Lexus had 120 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 145 last year. Ford Motor Co.'

I was putting up the outdoor lights the other day when my wife, Posh, came along and pushed me off the ladder. I thought she was just being playful in that cute, physically intimidating way she has. But no, she really needed the ladder. Her plan: to jump off the roof and spare herself the agony of another holiday season. I thought about it a bit — 20 minutes max — then picked up a bullhorn. To leave me alone with our kids during the holidays, I pleaded, would go against the spirit that the season represents.

Federal safety regulators have closed an inquiry into sudden-acceleration incidents involving certain Lexus ES models after concluding that a vehicle defect was unlikely. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's inquiry into the 2007 Lexus ES 350 and the 2002-03 Lexus ES 300 was triggered by a petition from Jeffrey A. Pepski of Plymouth, Minn. Pepski said his 2007 Lexus ES 350 suddenly accelerated from 60 to 80 mph while he was driving home from work Feb. 3. Pepski said his accelerator pedal became stuck and he could not lift it up with his right foot, while the car continued to accelerate.

Lexus hopes ol' Slowhand can help sell $40,000 cars quickly. The luxury label of Toyota, with U.S. headquarters in Torrance, this weekend will unveil two TV ads linking performer Eric Clapton's attributes to those of its automobiles. Lexus sponsors Clapton's 1998 U.S. tour. The spots feature "pop-ups," similar to those used on VH-1's "Pop-Up Video" program, to tout such things as Clapton/Lexus' "breathtaking acceleration" and "effortless shifting."

Lexus is sticking its money where its agency is. Team One Advertising, the same agency that has helped drive Lexus to impressive sales, sped off Thursday with the estimated $20-million to $30-million annual ad business for the newly formed national Lexus Dealer Assn. The El Segundo-based agency already handles the estimated $60-million-plus national ad business for Lexus. The new account is among the largest awarded on the West Coast in months.